Frozen Heat Sizzles

I am usually very skeptical about books which are turned into movies or television shows.  Where I am disappointed is when I like the book and the show turns out nothing like what I have read.  Now I will give a nod to "Game of Thrones", the Harry Potter movies, Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit.  But normally they fare so-so at best.

So.....

Being a big Castle fan (the television show or maybe it is just Nathan Fillion), I had been reluctant to try the books that the show is based on.  Or is it the books that the show is based on the books being written on the show?  

Anyway, needing something to read (like a hole in my head), I picked up this paperback, figuring I would give it a try.  This is book number 4 in the series and the main character is Nikki Heat which in the TV show Kate Beckett is based on.  Or rather Kate Beckett is the person Nikki Heat in the books is based on.  Confusing, I know.  And that was my problem throughout the book.  I kept getting the book and the TV show confused, but not in a bad way.  It just kept flashing through my mind as I was reading. (And Nathan Fillion flashing through your mind is definitely not a bad thing!)

Despite having deja vu while reading and despite starting with book four in the series, this was a great read.  In fact, I would caution anyone reading the book not to get to the last 100 pages or so and have it be near their bedtime.  They are going to stay awake until it's finished and then be up longer with an adrenaline rush.  Remembering to breath is also a requirement as you find yourself holding it because you can't read fast enough.

Much like Kate in the TV show, Nikki's mother was murdered 10 years earlier.  And now a murder of a French national in New York has ties to that murder.  Not only does Nikki have to unravel two murders at the same time, but with each clue she learns things about her mother she never knew.  Her piano teaching mother had been on the edge of a concert career and gave it up, but why?

From New York to Boston to Paris and back, Nikki Heat and Jameson Rook team up to solve the murders.  Jameson, like Richard Castle on the TV show, is a writer and is a pseudo-partner with Nikki. His prodding helps unfold decade old answers to questions and the ending is just the beginning of another question.

By only problem with the book....now I have to go get books 1-3 and wait for the next one to come out.

Too Much On My Nightstand

I am currently in Montana and my Kindle is back in North Carolina.  And while I do have the app on my iPad, it is a little bulky to read in bed with.  Part of me can't give up my good old paper books anyway.  And you would think I would have more time to read these days being retired.  However, having a 1 month old to care for (at least part time) seems to take up a lot of time.

 So this is my bedside table at the present time.  I have a couple of other books I am in the process of reading also, but these were recently added.  Darn Sam's Club and their discounted book prices!
Being a fan of the Castle TV show, I thought I would try an actual book from the show.  Or is that a book the show is based on.  I also really enjoy a lot of the fiction coming out that is label "Young Adult" reading.  Their fantasy books are really good.  Think Hunger Games and the Harry Potter series.  Therefore, the Beautiful Creatures series was added to the pile.  Since I am almost through The Song of Fire and Ice books by George R. R. Martin, I though I would add some of his other writings to the pile.

While part of me says the Stephanie Plum books are getting a bit rote, I still can't give up the giggles I get from reading these books.  I am actually am saving this for later in the pile, a treat for a rainy day.

And to not just fill my head up with 'mush', I have an extensive manual for my new camera so that I can learn all the ends and outs.  I have a LONG way to go on fully utilizing this book.  It will stay at hand for quite a while.

But this is what I am actually currently reading.  Patricia Briggs and Diana Gabaldon I have read before, and it is edited by George R. R. Martin (which I didn't really pick up on until I got the book home with the others).  Very "Urban Noire" as he calls it.  It is dark fantasy in an urban setting.  I think when I saw Patricia Briggs I was expecting a bit more romance in the stories, but not the case.  I have, however, found a couple of authors I now want to go back and read some of their books.

So many books, so little time.  

Time Untime Not Timely

Sherrilyn Kenyon is one of those authors I follow and have pretty much read everything she has published.  And with the move to Montana and having to sit in a house with no internet and no one else here but me and the dogs, I picked this book up at the grocery store.  And dropped it into the bath as I started reading it.  That should have been an indication of my feelings about this book.  

I love the whole Dark Hunter series and the storyline behind them.  This book was about Dark Hunters, but these Dark Hunters came from North America instead of coming over from Europe.  So there was a lot of Native America and Mayan lore included in the book.  Normally, I would have found all that information interesting, but not this time.  I have missed a couple of books recently which probably set up the characters in the book, so I will have to go back and see what I have missed, but you can read the book without that information.  But it would be interesting to read more about Dark Hunters based on Mesoamerica.  

The first half to two-thirds of the book just seemed to ramble on and on about nothing in particular.  I know it was setting the scene for the crisis of saving the world from ending, but it was just a bunch of 'nothing'.  It did not hold my interest and about three-fourths of it could have been left out and still moved the story along.  The main characters seemed a little flat and their story a bit contrived to fit the plot.

I was really disappointed with this book from Kenyon.  However, I will still read the next book she puts out and reread the older ones.  After all, not everyone can bat a thousand. 

Coming Soon!

This is where I will post about what I am reading, good or bad, and what I am writing, good or bad.  So stay tuned for further updates.